Aboyne Highland Games has been gifted a £10,000 grant to help improve security and safety at future events.
Since securing the money, over 800m of Heras fencing is being purchased – the distance around the perimeter of Aboyne Green, the venue for Aboyne Highland Games.
It comes as a welcomed boost following the event recently having been called off for a second year in a row as a result of the pandemic.
Plans are currently being finalised to mark the event online on what would have been games day on August 7, which will also include online piping and fiddle competitions.
Money from the National Lottery community fund is a major investment for the games and will bolster security at the annual August event.
With an estimated 10,500 people in attendance back in 2019 fort the annual Deeside event, new fencing that will also be more stable, and safer to erect and dismantle representing a huge boost for the future.
It will be August 2022 before the new metal fencing takes pride of place at Aboyne Highland Games.
Metal fence panels will replace rolls of wooden chestnut pale fencing
The new metal fence panels will replace rolls of wooden chestnut pale fencing that have historically been erected to secure the green for games day.
Traditionally held in August, the Aboyne Highland Games are thought to inject an estimated £450,000 into the Deeside economy each year.
Alistair Grant, chairman of Aboyne Highland Games, said: “The committee is very pleased to have secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to assist with the purchase of the new fencing.
“It is an investment for the long-term future of Aboyne Highland Games, and I look forward to seeing the fence erected for the first time next August and it gleaming in the sunshine, heralding the return of the games.
“The new fencing was needed to improve the safety and security of the event and will certainly give the games a different look from the roadside.
“Many locals will have fond memories of seeing the old wooden chestnut fencing going up, knowing it signalled the countdown to games day and also the arrival of the funfair.
“There will doubtless be a few folks who tried to get round the fence to avoid paying the entrance fee over the years.”
Not ones for waste, organisers have donated the old chestnut fencing to the Lecht Ski Centre for use on its slopes, where it will be installed to help form ski runs.
Mr Grant added: “It is great that the old fencing is gaining a new lease of life, being repurposed on the ski slopes.
“Donating it to the Lecht Ski Centre illustrates the ways that local businesses and organisations such as Aboyne Highland Games can assist one another to bolster the economy.”
The National Lottery community fund, Scotland chairwoman, Kate Still, said: “In these unprecedented times, it’s heartening to see the way Scottish communities are coming together to provide each other with support.
“I would like to congratulate Aboyne Highland Games on their award which is testament to the incredible efforts of their volunteers.
“National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is making such a difference.”